I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 2021 | Interview with Louise Minchin (Broadcaster & ex BBC Breakfast Host)

Phobias: The idea of small, enclosed spaces with cockroaches and spiders is horrific!

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the Castle: It’s nice to be able to show the fun side of me rather than the serious news presenter.

Role in the camp: I will give out hugs and make the food more edible!

Miss most: My comfortable bed and lovely bath.

Dream camper: Angelina Jolie and Daniel Craig – we wouldn’t have a problem getting stars if he were in the Castle!

Former BBC Breakfast news presenter Louise Minchin is hoping to show her fun side on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! but she admits not being able to find out the latest news headlines whilst in the Castle will be difficult.

But the endurance sport lover – who bade farewell to the famous red breakfast sofa in September after 20 years working on the news programme – says she hopes her former BBC colleague and friend, Dan Walker, will vote for her to take part in as many Trials as possible, explaining ITV’s award-winning entertainment series is the one show she has always dreamt of doing.

“Going on I’m A Celebrity is a big adventure,” says 53- year-old Louise. “It is very different to sitting on the BBC Breakfast sofa and it will be scary and daunting but it will also be lots of fun.

“I’ve driven past the Castle quite a few times and I am really excited for it to be in Wales again. This time last year I had a broken ankle and I literally sat on the sofa at home watching every single minute of it thinking, ‘Oh my gosh that Castle looks incredible, one day I would love to be part of it’ and now I am!”

“I didn’t tell Dan Walker I was doing I’m A Celebrity before coming to Wales but I don’t think he will be surprised! He knows me well and I think he will be both excited and nervous for me. I have been voting for him on Strictly so fingers crossed he will vote for me a lot.”

Reflecting on how it will feel to not know what is going on in the world, she adds: “I have spent the last 20 years immersed in news every single day. For me to not know what is going on in the news is going to be extraordinary. Not having access to the phone and not constantly scrolling, looking at everything is a difficult thing to let go of but I am also actually looking forward to it.”

And despite being well known for her love of fitness, the former news presenter predicts she will scream a lot.

“The biggest challenge for me is going to be small spaces,” she explains. “I can’t get in a lift with too many people in and I would rather walk up the stairs than get in the lift. And anything with cockroaches, spiders or rats I will squeal and scream. That is not my idea of fun at all!

“My family are very worried I will scream a lot and make a terrible fuss. But they are also really excited because they know how much I love challenging myself.”

So what will she miss most? Aside from her family, Louise is dreading not having a comfortable bed to sleep in.

“Being away from my family will be tough and I will miss them desperately,” she adds. “I talk to my daughters every single day about three times a day. I will also miss my really comfortable bed and my bath. I’ve camped before but that was only ever for two nights! This is relentless.”

But determined to throw herself into I’m A Celebrity, Louise, a former finalist on BBC’s MasterChef, says she will try to make the camp meals more edible. “I got to the finals on MasterChef and I am not a big fan of being hungry,” she says. “I will try to make our food more edible when it turns up.”

“I really hate conflicts too and I will try to be the diplomat in the Castle. But a lack of sleep won’t be an issue for me. I am a champion sleeper and I can sleep anywhere at any time!”

Her first big TV project since leaving BBC Breakfast, Louise says she doesn’t know what the future will hold when she leaves the Welsh Castle.

“I haven’t made any concrete plans,” she reveals. “And I don’t know what the future holds but I am so looking forward to having some fun in Wales. My job is incredibly serious – especially so over the past 18 months – and I am really looking forward to the change doing I’m A Celebrity.”

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